Memories of Fire
by Johnny Valentine
Summary: I can't remember. I can't remember you, which hurts the most. I can't remember your smile, the way the sun lights up your blonde hair. I remember one thing though. I love you Lucy Heartfilia. I will find the ones who did this to me. And I will kill them. (T for Violence, Language and Adult themes. NaLu. Rehash of earlier story.)
1. Memories of Her

**Hey guys. This is the rehash of my story "Memories of Fire." I never finished it but it was relatively successful and I liked the story, so I'm doing it again, but better. Updates may be few and far between, but they're gonna come. Cheers!**

Fire. Fiiiire. FIRE. FiRe. You can write it in so many different ways, say it in even more. But none of those descriptions, none of those words accurately describe the wonder of fire. The _mystery._

There are three states of being, in physics. We know this much. You have solids, you have liquids and you have gasses. Every _thing_ is one of those, or a combination of several, like humans. To be anything, you need to at least meet the prerequisites of _being. _On other worlds, in other dimensions, I bet there are hundreds of others as well. Is magic a state of being? It might as well be. So add that to the list, because that's what we wizards are made of. Magic.

The elements bend to this. Water is a liquid, Earth is a solid and Air is a gas.

So what's Fire?

Is it all? Or is it none? That's the mystery that surrounds it, an embodiment of heat and energy and hunger and power. Fire is the be all and the end all, the alpha and omega, the beginning.

And the end.

Fire is the creator, the spark in the past that allowed us to reach so far, with our tendrils of knowledge and expansion.

It also tastes good.

Really good.

The house was on fire, and it wasn't my fault.  
>Well, maybe a little bit.<p>

* * *

><p>"Damn it Natsu!" howled a voice, as I ran as fast as I could around the corner, slamming into my boss. Ricks was a large man, sweat on his thick brow and a large belly that I rebounded off. He had a light mustache that was uneven, curling at the edges.<p>

As I hit the ground, the large chef glared down at me. I gulped.

"My bad?"

The restaurant, "Ricksie's Bits" was a popular little way station along the main road into Crocus. The small township itself was about two hours long walk to the capital, so quite often travelers who were on their way out of the city would stop for a bite to eat before heading on-wards. I had arrived there, bleeding and half-starved, three weeks before, and the sympathetic, if gruff Head Chef had given me a job. Simple, and pretty much standard for someone like me. A fire wizard.  
>Ricks knew about the magic, of course. That was why I was in charge of cleaning and disinfectant.<p>

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Natsu?!" the fat man scowled, dragging me by the ear ("ow, ow") towards his house.

He turned back to the restaurant. The blaze was now roaring, with villagers rushing to help. A few men had dragged buckets over and were throwing water and sand over the blaze, but it would not die down. I was confused. I hadn't used that much fire, had I?

"Stay there!" the chef roared, before rushing to help with the recovery operation.

There wasn't much left of the restaurant afterwards.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry!" I protested as the chef, face purple with anger, tossed me onto the road, "Sometimes it gets hard to control! It just builds up and up and I can't help but let it loose! I'll build a new one. I'll pay for repairs, I..."<p>

"STOP"

I gulped at the enraged tone. This chef was the first person who had ever shown me kindness. Apart from Ig...

Pain exploded in my head and I moaned, eyes watering. Shit, it was happening again. The headaches. I always got them when I tried to remember stuff. Stuff that hadn't happened. Or had, but I had been forced to forget.

"Please Ricks... I don't have another place. I don't even know who I am," I was surprised to find tears in my eyes. I never got this emotional. Most of the time, I was generally flippant with issues like this, but this was serious.

"Natsu," I was shocked by the tone of the fat man. He wasn't angry anymore. He was sad, with a touch of kindness in his eyes.

"You don't belong here, washing dishes. You're a wizard, so go join a guild. My brother was a member of one in Magnolia once. Head there. I'm sure the place will welcome a talented wizard like yourself. Live. Have a life away from this kind of poverty."

I had thought about joining a guild in the past, but I hadn't actually had the courage to. But now, I supposed that was my only choice.

"Thanks, tubby," I said, grinning at the chef. He laughed and patted me on the shoulder.

* * *

><p>And so I walked.<p>

My memory had been missing for as long as I could remember, which was a pretty weird way of thinking about it. But it was the truth. I could remember up to a month ago, but the rest... My family, my friends, the nature of my power... They were all a haze, a fog that had surrounded my brain and that lashed out whenever I tried to broach it. Even the huge burn mark on my right shoulder was a mystery, a scar to remind me of something... but what?

I hated my magic. It was useful, and the whole eating fire thing was satisfying and pretty cool when you think about it... but all that stupid fire had done was get me into trouble.

I was sick of it. I wanted a way to control it, to learn magical discipline.

When night fell, I headed towards the next inn that I came across. Ricks had given me a few supplies before I had left: A thicker coat than the black vest that I was wearing, which I had put on, and some sturdier shoes than the ones I had arrived in. He had also given me a pair of black cargo pants. He had even offered me a new scarf to replace the tattered white one I always wore, but I had become extremely anxious at the idea of my scarf being taken. It was a memento of the life I could not remember.

With the few Jewels Ricks had given me, I paid for a meal and a bed. The food was sukiyaki, a platter of raw fish that I really enjoyed and some juice of some sort. It wasn't gourmet, but it would do. I ate fast, my hunger sating itself as the fire in my belly cooked the fish.

The inn was warm, with very few people in it and a bartender chatting with the chef. The bartender was a woman, with long blonde hair and a motherly kind of look on her face. It reminded me of...

The headaches came again.

As I was rubbing my temples and scowling at the leftover fish, a girl walked into the inn. She was wrapped up in a big raincoat, water dripping from it. I hadn't realized it was raining, my pounding skill taking top priority. She sighed as she entered the warmth of the room, before throwing her raincoat off her and onto a coat rack.

"You can come out now Happy. We're inside."

A cat of a very bright blue leaped out of the girls coat pocket, his face and eyes bright with interest.

"Thank Mavis. I only like water when it's got fish in it."

The cat _talked. _It freaking _talked._ Natsu stared at it for a moment, before chuckling and picking a piece of fish from between his teeth. He was a fire breathing teenage boy, so it was a little hypocritical of him to be judging a talking cat.

"Boy I hope the 1 Million Jewel reward is worth it," said the girl. Her blonde hair fell down her back, with the side bundled up in a ponytail, decorated with a blue ribbon. Her clothes were all blue and white, with a vest, shirt and skirt. She wore leggings and canvas shoes that she kicked off. They looked soaked.

Instinctively, I tried to flatten my rosy hair down, and my heart skipped a beat. Something about this girl was familiar. Had I met her on my way to Ricks? Possibly, but I didn't rule out the possibility that she knew me from my past. It took my a moment to realize that she was very pretty, and her outfit showed off her pleasant curves nicely.

Then she turned her brilliant, hazel eyes on me.

Our gazes met, a second passing. My heart did a little tip tap, (stupid heart,) and I blushed a bit, planning to look away.

So you can understand my surprise when tears started to pour down her face. The cat, Happy, glanced at her, and then over at me. He made a little squeak and began to shake. Had I done something wrong? I only had three weeks of memories, so I wasn't exactly _adept _with wooing the opposite sex but still, I wasn't _that bad _was I?

I got up, planning to apologize to her. Maybe where she was from, meeting somebody's eyes was offensive?

As I did, the cat and the girl threw themselves at me over the length of the inn. It was quite impressive actually, crying hysterically.

"NATSU!"

The cat buried it's little cat face in my neck, howling and punching my shoulder with his cute little hands. The grief that racked his voice was staggering, unable to come from such a little person, cat or no. The girl wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder, her voice and breathing uneven. She felt very frail as I put my arms gingerly around her.

"We thought you were dead!" She cried, looking up at me. There are certain women who can look pretty when they cry, and she was one of them. My heart jumped about again and I smiled at her.

"I'm... I'm sorry?"

"You should be!" she said angrily, sobbing again and punching me feebly. I finally managed to get the pair calmed down, and sat them at my table. The cat wouldn't let go of me, and the girl kept looking at me as if I wasn't real.

"How did you survive?" she asked, taking a deep gulp from the glass of water that the barmaid had fetched her. The barmaid herself took one look at the trio and smiled, leaving the three to themselves.

"Survive what?"

"Wait... You're saying you don't remember?"

I frowned at her and shook my head, my heart galloping along. Was I finally about to discover my past?

"No... I'm saying I don't remember anything." I said, looking deeply into her big brown eyes. They became even bigger as she stared at me in shock.

"I'm sorry," I said, and the look on her face changed back to grief.

"I don't know who you are,"


	2. Memories of Friendship

The curse of the human condition is to feel... human.

We are always accompanied by the fears and the instincts that we, as humans, are born with. Breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping, screwing.

I knew this dream was a weird one, because, even though I was flying through the sky, I was not scared of falling. Even dreams, especially nightmares, force you to fear and to ponder what does not exist. But in my dream, I was high in the sky, the cool air whipping around me.

I was free, joy bursting forth in great belly laughs that I struggled to keep down. What was this sensation? It was as if my body had slowed, but my heart had begun to race. I was distinctly aware of the movement of the clouds around me and the wings of the doves that had begun to surround me. I watched the flock pass, waving out to them.

The swooping bank that they took, spiraling towards the earth was a greeting, hundreds of the white angels all singing to me .Time around me moved as normal, but I was stuck in a slow-motion free fall, only in the air due to the invisible force that guided The clouds made shapes. There were so many that I couldn't make out where I should be looking. Each spoke to me, calling out in the forms of people, friends and Friends that I no longer knew.

"Once you know your weakness, you can become stronger and kinder."

"All I need is the power to protect my comrades."

"As long as you are with your friends, you will always have a guild."

"My family is Fairy Tail, and I will crush my family's enemies!"

"No matter how far away you may be, I will always be watching you."

"If you have love in your life, you have to keep on living."

So many faces. So many voices, all hauntingly, horribly familiar.

And yet so far away. I could feel myself falling, the earth opening it's arms to embrace me. I was ready to face what was coming. I had no idea what the future would bring, but all I could do was grit my teeth and plunge into the earth.

As the ground swallowed me up, a whisper of love reached me, afire with passion and an optimistic joy. What was to come? Her voice tore into my heart and stopped it, leaving me hanging in limbo as the ground sucked me in.

"It's always more fun when we're together!"

My head shot upwards, breath coming fast and hard through my lungs. Panting, I held my head in one hand, the pain thudding through it harder and faster than it had done before. Around me, my sheets were tangled in a mismatch bunch, damp with sweat.

My body shook with anxiety as my heartbeat slowed to it's normal pace. Light gleamed down on me through the window, the sun breaking through the previous night's storm clouds. I let the warmth settle on my bare chest, closing my eyes and breathing in deeply.

It was a nice moment, a snippet of peace in what I was expecting to be a really confusing, stressful and generally annoying day.

Lucy Heartfilia. A girl from my past, strolling right on into my life with a talking blue cat.

A very, very pretty girl from my past.

In my month of memory, I hadn't really shown interest in women. And yeah, it was true that there weren't many to choose from around Ricks, but I hadn't actually thought about that part of myself. It was as if my libido was on hold until I got my memories back, so I was surprised when I felt a little flutter around my gut, tickling my innards with a sly finger.

I told my innards to shut it. If I was going to have any hope of getting my life back I needed to concentrate solely on the cause of my amnesia.

I reached my hand up to my hair, going to run it through, when I found something unexpected. I poked and prodded at the soft fur ball, frowning in confusion. I pulled it off my head and found it was Happy.

Even though I dangled him from his tail, he slept soundly, snoring slightly. He was even sucking one of his paws, his mouth turned down in an innocent, tired expression. It was freaking adorable. I smiled, putting him down on my pillow and gathering some blankets around him. Judging by the pale light, it was still quite early. He could stay in dreamland for a little /There was an instinct there. A feeling. I knew that, whatever happened, I would never abandon Happy. There was a pang of loneliness and sadness at the pain I must have caused the cat, but I decided at that moment that I would protect the little guy with all my heart and soul. Just looking at his vulnerable form made anger boil in me, anger at the bastards who had taken me away and stolen my memory.

There hadn't been a whole lot of talking the night before. After I had told Lucy that I was, in fact, clueless about pretty much everything, she had sat in silence while Happy had clung to my shoulder. I had tried to talk to her and she had responded with monosyllables, her features confused and maybe a little wistful, eyes gazing off into some other world. I couldn't blame her. I was sure that meeting your best friend after a month or so of their supposed death and discovering they had no idea who you were was sure to twist the heartstrings. In the end, the girl had eaten and left to her room, pausing only to say that the two would talk in the morning. She had said that she was heading back to her guild, Fairy Tail, and that I should go along. With nowhere else, I decided I would. If there was anything to bring my memories back, I would take it. There was also the selfish little twinge in my stomach at the thought of being separated from the pretty blonde. I had only met her that night, but in my head it felt as if we were old, old friends. Which, I guessed, we were. I just couldn't do her the justice of remembering that.

"Happy!?" came a voice, high and panicked. It was a female voice, still raw from sleep, and I discovered in short time that it belonged to Lucy. She slid open my door and stopped short. I saw her run her eyes up my half-naked form. When she saw me looking at her looking, she blushed deeply and murmured an apology. The way her eyes lingered on mine, it was quite obvious that she was still trying to work out if I was real or not.

"Sorry... Is Happy in here? I can't find him..." As she gazed about the room, she spotted the bundled up little guy, who was now snoring with all his might (which wasn't much.) She smiled warmly, her breathing slowing to a relaxed "Oh good. I thought he might..." She stopped, her voice trailing off as I stood up and began to fold the sheets that Happy wasn't using. I could feel her watching me, but ignored the pressing weight on my back and made sure the room was in a decent shape.

"It hurt him the most, when you left..." Lucy said, her voice very quiet. I stopped, clenching my fist as my instincts screamed at me to turn and confront her. Who the hell did she think she was? It wasn't as if I left on purpose! I didn't choose to forget everything! But I stopped. I had the feeling that the busty blonde wasn't jumping down my throat. It was just a comment, calmly voiced. Closing my eyes and breathing, I turned.

"You were like his father. You pretty much were," she said, her eyes snapping up to mine. They were very nice eyes, a deep, chocolate brown that was possessed of a rich love and tenderness.

"I couldn't imagine hurting a cute little guy like that," I said, smiling slightly. I didn't want to incite more migraines, so I kept the topic off of what I couldn't remember, and focused on what I could.

"So he talks... Is he a magical cat?" Lucy blinked, then chuckled sadly. She slumped down one wall and kept her big, brown eyes on me. I thought I saw a tear in one, but it was probably nothing. I sat down too, to be polite.

"That's right... You can't remember anything can you? The amount of things we're gonna have to go over... Your past, your friends, your powers. I just don't know how we can go on if you can't…"

For some obscure reason, I was moved with the urge to go to her. I didn't, because that would be weird. I did however, grin stupidly and flash the tattoo on my shoulder, a mirror to the mark on her hand.

"Lucy..." I said, grinning fiercely, "We are gonna do whatever the hell we can to find out who did this and get my memories back. I promise you. And I never go back on my promises."

"Natsu..." she said, tears forming. The way she said my name, like she was saying the name of a precious child or friend, made my heart sputter. I took a second to kick it back into gear and grinned at her.

"I'm all fired up! Let's do this Lucy!"

The tears just started to pour as I said, "I'm all fired up!" She flung herself across the room and into my chest and wailed quietly, making an odd noise halfway between sobbing and crying. I blinked, my situation turning from "out of depth" to about "ohmyfudginglordwhatdoIdohelp" in around .5 seconds. I patted her awkwardly on the back and gulped. Happy, the little shit, chose that exact moment to wake up. He smirked at me, his mannerism a complete far-cry from his previous innocence. I scowled at him, and he responded by turning around and making it look like he was kissing an imaginary lover. I was gonna wring his scrawny little neck.

* * *

><p>"You're a lot different, I have to say," Lucy mused as we trotted along the small gravel path. The path led to a nearby town, where we were going to catch a train to Magnolia. I was doubtful about the whole "train" thing, but Lucy assured me that there was nothing wrong. There seemed to be a mischievous little twinkle in her eye as she said this, which made me think that maybe she was leaving something out. I had glared suspiciously as we left the inn, before settling in for a relaxing walk.<p>

The weather had taken a turn for the better, sun and blue sky replacing the gloomy storm clouds that had been so full of rain and thunder the night before. Even the path, which should have been a mud-bath, was nearly dry, making the trek much more pleasant.

I had to stop myself from staring over at the blonde on the walk. She had changed her hair, which now sat in two pigtails on either side of her head, leaving a cute fringe at the front. Could she ever look bad? I really doubted it. Even her outfit, reminiscent of a schoolgirl, made me trip over the odd time (especially when she bent over). Lucy looked like a million jewels, which suited me juuust fine.

I put on a change of clothes, still my usual vest and trousers and tying my scarf around my head to fend off the sun. The weather made me happy. Really happy. I suppose that suited my name though. "Natsu" was Old Fioran for "Summer," so I guess that made sense.

Happy was perched atop my shoulder, his occasional outbursts cheerful, although they were mostly about fish. He liked fish, I guessed.

"In a bad way?" I said, frowning.

I didn't want to hurt Lucy even more by not being the Natsu she wanted.

"Not exactly. But a different way. You were a lot louder when I knew you." I snorted at this. She should have seen me with Ricks. Once I had become comfortable with the old chef, I had been what he described as "A Pyromaniac windbag." In all honesty, I agreed with him.

"Anything else?"

"Well, you didn't look at my butt as much." I pulled my scarf right up over my face to hide my burning cheeks, scowling at the blonde. Had I really been that obvious? Dear god, I had a lot to learn. Lucy cackled and sped up. I jogged to catch up with her.

"So what magic can you use?" I asked.

For the next twenty minutes, Lucy explained Celestial Spirit magic to me, about how she used magical contracts with powerful stellar spirits to get them to fight for her. The idea interested me, and a few of the things she said sounded familiar.

Then I asked her about the other members of her Guild, about there magic. Takeover, Requip, Ice Magic, Crash, Solid Script. It all spun around in my mind, confusing the hell out of me, but I was just glad to hear her voice. I thought that maybe, if she spoke enough about the mysterious "Fairy Tail," then I would begin to remember. Sadly, by the end of the conversation, I still didn't have a clue about my past and about my life as a wizard.

"What about you?" she asked turning to look at me, "Can you still use your dragon slayer magic?"

"Dragon Slayer?"

At my look of confusion, she sighed. I felt a stab in my gut as I failed, yet again, to remember. Memories were such frail things... People forget things all the time, but they had no idea the value of them. What I wouldn't give to have a snippet of the existence I had left

"Lucy... What happened? Why did you think I was dead?"

The stellar spirit wizard took in a deep shuddering breath, and launched into the story, with Happy piping in with the occasional unhelpful comment.

"Our team... Me, You, Happy, Gray, Erza, Wendy and another cat, Charle, went on a mission. It wasn't huge, but the payout was decent and we all needed the money. Our team was the strongest in the guild, what with you, Gray and Erza at about S-Class level-that means you were very powerful. It was a normal job, but we didn't expect it to get so out of hand. We were supposed to take out some marauders who had raided and taken over a local hold. The castle itself was pretty big, but, as always, we went barging in without thinking about tactics. I knew at once something was wrong, but I kept quiet. I shouldn't have. I should have warned you guys..."

She took in another breath and continued.

"Anyway, we made our way into a giant hall and were surrounded immediately. We weren't worried though, because even one of us could have taken out the group of men. But then a figure came out of the shadows. He was covered in these dark tentacles that seemed to be made out of the darkness itself, that writhed and twisted around him. Even I could feel the power coming off of him. It was like... like a really damp, hot day. Muggy. His power was so dense and thick that it pressed into us. And it was evil. I hadn't ever felt pressure like that before, not from somebody that looked human. He just looked... normal. Like an average guy, apart from the shadows. Then you started screaming at us to run, saying something about "Dragons" or something. We tried, breaking through the ranks, and you told us to leave you, that you would fight this guy. I didn't... I didn't try to stop you Natsu. Erza and Gray tried to get back to help you, to save you, but the scary guy beat them back with the shadows. We had to go, because the castle had begun to collapse from the sheer power this guy had. We left, and barely made it out as the whole place fell. We tried looking for you. The whole guild did, but we never recovered the body. That was the last we saw of you, fighting that shadow-man."

After she was finished, Lucy stayed quiet, leaving me staring at her in shocked silence. The shadowman. He was the one responsible for my memory loss. I grabbed Lucy's hand, grinning.

"We've got a lead now! You don't know how much of a help that is."

"It was my fault..."

"No!" I shouted at her, and the girl's eyes widened. She stared up at me.

"I may only have a month's worth of memories, but I know this. Friends don't leave friends unless they have to. I made you leave me Lucy, and look, here I am, alive. I only met you yesterday, but I already know that you would never leave somebody unless you had good reason. So stop beating yourself up about it Lucy. We..."

I paused, trying to find the right word. The word I did find slid off my tongue as if I had said it a thousand times.

"We're nakama Lucy. And Nakama don't let their friends suffer. We'll find out why I can't remember anything and we'll find a way to get those memories back."

Happy jumped excitedly on my shoulder.

"Aye sir!" he said, grinning.

"That's right!" I said, giving the cat a high five and turning back to Lucy. "We'll find the answer. I won't let you cry again for me. You or anyone else! You with me!?"

Her dejected expression turned to one of nervous excitement. "Just like old times," she said, putting her hand on mine. I laughed and turned to the road ahead.

"Ya in Happy?"  
>"Aye!"<br>Hands in a tight circle, we chanted, connected by our friendship and our determination.

"3, 2, 1.."

"Team Natsu!"

"Team Lucy!"

"Team Fish!"

I had a feeling that this journey was going to become very interesting. But so what? At least I was with my friends.

In the end, that was all that mattered.


	3. Memories of Battle

Imagine you have a sword. Now, imagine swallowing that sword in tiny little pieces, washing it down with a bottle of drain cleaner. Jump about a bit to get the flow going. Then multiply the pain by a thousand and hope to hell your stomach doesn't self-destruct.

That's what the train felt like. 

"Ow," I wheezed, face pressed against the window as the train raced across the Fioran foothills, leaving behind a trail of smoke. Green pastures rushed past, the sun gleaming down upon them from the blue sky. I regretted facing the window, as the blurring emerald haze made my stomach twist. I retched and put my head in my hands, moaning.

"Kill me Lucy. Please," 

Lucy just laughed, grinning at me from where she sat in the small carriage. Happy was napping on her lap, his breaths coming long and slow. She stroked his head and chuckled, winking at me. 

"That's the Natsu I know. Back to your old self at last."

I moaned, seriously contemplating attacking the girl. Or maybe just vomit in her direction. Either one would do. I scowled up at her and took some deep breaths, trying to settle my churning stomach. 

"How come I'm so... blegh?" I asked, not bothering with proper words. Besides, "blegh" described how I felt perfectly. A fresh wave of nausea hit me and I doubled over, trying to hold the sick down. 

"You're a dragon slayer. That's the kind of magic you use," 

I nodded. She had explained the whole elements thing to me, and it was pretty straightforward. But even so… 

"But what has that got to do with me feeling like this?" I groaned, studying the girl. Even through my motion-sickness, I still found it hard to keep my eyes on her. Every one of Lucy's expressions, whether she was crying or laughing, were absolutely beautiful. It soothed the pain in my stomach a bit, replacing the daggers with little butterflies. Little carnivorous evil butterflies. But butterflies all the same.

I tried to ignore that part of me and instead focused on what she said next. 

"When Dragon slayers reach a certain level, whether that's through training or experience or age, they become unable to ride any kind of vehicle. You were like that before I met you, but Gajeel only reached that recently. You know, Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer?" 

I grunted in affirmation. She had spoken to me about Fairy Tail's dragon slayers, Wendy, Gajeel and Laxus. The names meant nothing to me, but I pretended to be interested.

What was more interesting was the nature of my power. Lucy hadn't told me how I... no, We had gotten our powers, and I had the feeling she knew. I guess it was just something I would have to remember.

Along with everything else.

I sighed, leaning my head against the window and turning away from it, instead fixing my eyes on her.

"Well, it sucks ass. How long will this take anyway?"

Lucy chuckled again and winked at me. 

"Naww, ickle Natsu isn't feeling very well?"

I growled menacingly and pointed a shaking finger at her.

"Don't push me blondie!" I said before I doubled over again, wincing and clutching my stomach. Lucy giggled again. 

Despite my words, I was glad that Lucy was happy. She had a really nice laugh that I liked a lot. I hated to see that face in tears, I hated to see her cry. I didn't want her to be sad, and the fact the she had cheered up was good. Good for her and good for me. The thought of her misery sent shivers of anger down my spine. I really wanted to make sure that she was happy for the rest of the day. In completely ideal circumstances, I would make her happy for the rest of her life, but I knew that that was impossible. In life, there are thousands of little things that can go wrong, millions of tiny events that can spiral way out of control. There are scores of loved ones perched on the cliffs of mortality, waiting for a mere push before they hurtle down to the jagged rocks below. There was disappointment, anger, misery, grief and sadness. That was life, and I knew that I couldn't get rid of all those for Lucy. But I could be there for her. I could be her shoulder to cry on and if that lifted the pain, even slightly, it would be enough. 

I had only met the girl the night before, but there was this subconscious feeling there, a spark of memory that manifested itself in my will to protect. 

I had no idea then, but I was slowly getting my memories back. 

"So there are other dragon slayers at Fairy Tail..." I said idly, taking deep breaths to try and settle my roaring gut. "Who else is there?"

Lucy spent the next 30 minutes telling me about the other members of Fairy Tail, my so called friends. They sounded like very interesting people, each with their own mysteries and stories that I wondered about. There was Gray, the ice wizard and Cana, the card-user and daughter of the powerful Gildarts. There was Gajeel and Juvia, each an ex-member of the disbanded guild Phantom Lord. Lisanna, Elfman and Mirajane, the famous Strauss family. Levy, Jet and Droy, the team Shadow Gear. The famous Erza and the master, Makarov Dreyar of the Ten Wizard Saints. 

"... And Laxus is the master's grandson. There was a bit of a fight a few years ago about when Laxus tried to stage a coup, but now they're all on really good terms!" 

These names meant nothing to me. There was no explosion of sudden memory. I just sat there, a little disappointed and my stomach churning. 

"You can't remember anything? Anything at all?" Lucy asked, her face concerned. I scowled at the ground, fists clenched. What sick bastard had stolen my memories? What kind of asshole would do that, and why? I could feel anger building up inside me at the injustice of it. I yearned for some knowledge, some snippet of my life, but nothing sprang to mind. I was still as unknowing as ever. 

And that scared the crap out of me. 

"Lucy... If we have to fight... I don't think I can..." 

Lucy was shocked. Her eyes widened and she touched my hand, saying quietly, 

"What makes you say that?" 

"It's just... I haven't been able to control the fire inside me, ever since I lost those memories. It's like everything I ever learnt about how to use magic is has gone. I can use it to a point, but after a while it ends up running loose and I start to set things alight. So, if we have to fight at any point, I don't think I can without endangering innocents." 

Lucy was quiet for a while, watching me. Then she gripped my hand tightly, smiling. 

"If there is even a tiny part of the Natsu I know in there, you don't have to worry about that. I was thinking... if you are put in a situation like that, you might be able to rely on your instincts to control your fire and defend yourself." 

I thought about this. There was a possibility. If I thought about it, I was already doing a million things instinctively. Walking, breathing, eating, talking. It was as if I couldn't remember details, but the skills and knowledge were all there. 

"I dunno... I dunno if we can rely on something like that. It puts a hell of a lot up to chance, doesn't it?" 

"No!" 

I blinked, as Lucy drew nearer and pecked me on the cheek. It wasn't anything more than that, almost sisterly, but the spot burned like a nuclear fire, sending warm tendrils down my body. Heart racing, I turned to look at her. I really hoped my cheeks weren't as red as they felt. She blushed a little too, and smiled up at me, her eyes glinting in the dull light from the shrinking sun outside. I forgot all about my nausea for a second and smiled back, trying to convey my gratitude and my feelings for her in one. 

But I couldn't. Because I couldn't be that sort of person to her. I needed to sort out my own bucket load of crap before I could even consider stuff like that, and why the hell would she go near me? The way she spoke about me, the way I was before the memory loss... I sounded like a loser.

I sounded like an asshole.

Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was right. I already had those feelings, those urges, the confusion at the feelings of others. Was I turning into that insensitive bastard that Lucy had been talking about? But before I could feel even worse, she snapped me from my thoughts. 

"The Natsu I knew believed in himself. He believed that he was able to protect his friends, and that meant that he could. All you need is faith," She said, grinning, "I believe in you. Happy believes in you. Now you need to believe in yourself." 

She was right, damn it. I could sit there feeling sorry for myself or I could get up and face my problems head on and discover the truth at last. 

"You can fight Natsu. Believe that you can, and you will." 

The explosion was so loud that even I couldn't hear what I said next. I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline, the pumping in my ears and the rapid thud-thud of my heart. The two of us looked up as the train shook violently. For I second, I expected us to derail, but the carriage righted itself and continued to shoot across the land. It seemed as if it was going faster.

"The hell was that?!" I snarled, struggling to my feet. My sickness came rushing back into me, and I swayed towards the open window and was violently sick out of it.

I grimaced and coughed, before slumping back against the wall. Lucy had sprung up, and was crouched next to me, concern in her eyes. 

Shit. If I couldn't stand up without vomiting, how the heck was I going to protect Lucy, Happy and all the innocents on the train from whatever had caused the explosion? More importantly, what had caused it? Were we under attack? Was this something to do with me?

Most likely, but I had no time to think about that. I needed to get this train to stop, and I needed to find the source of the boom. I could already feel my instincts kicking in. 

"Lucy! I need help to move. Let's get out there and see what the hell's going on!" 

My voice was different, a far-cry from the uncertain teenage boy I had been moments before. I could hear dull screams through the slider of our compartment and people running up the train, away from the source of the commotion. 

Lucy looked a bit taken-aback, before she nodded and said, "Right." 

By this time, Happy had woken up and had leaped down to my side. He jumped on my shoulder and patted my head, assuring me that he was very much there. He may have been a teeny little guy, but his presence was reassuring. 

Lucy propped my arm over her shoulders and helped me to stay steady as we left the compartment. It was like stepping into another world. The peace of our compartment was no more, replaced by a howling wind and the terrified screams of the other passengers. We made our way, pushing past others, to the source of the explosion. Wind was blasting right in my face, which meant only one thing. There was a hole in the train somewhere, maybe a door open or something. But the force of wind was more than that… 

We struggled away from the compartments in our carriages to the regular seating. 

The sight was terrifying. Is terrifying the right word? Humbling is better. 

The carriage was open to the elements, the end of it ripped away by some burning force. I could see scorch marks on the edges of the break, still sizzling with latent energy. The rest of the train had been completely ripped away, the force of it causing it to derail violently. In the distance I could make out about three carriages piled up around each other, crumpled and broken. 

The innocents. 

Before I could say anything, Lucy had ripped one of her keys from her belt and bellowed, a clear, clarion call: "Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

Howling fire swirled, a hurricane of light. In an instant, it was gone, replaced by a small girl with pink hair and a maids outfit. The girl bowed to Lucy, as the blonde shouted. 

"Get back to the other carriages! Check for survivors! Help them!" 

Virgo nodded and leaped off the side of the train. I blinked as she disappeared, shaking my head at the wonder and the sheer power of the celestial spirit. I couldn't do what she had done. 

But my attention was soon grasped by the two figures standing in the wreckage of the back carriage. They were just near the edge, but did not seem bothered by the rushing earth beneath them. 

The first was huge, at least 7 foot. He was muscular too, with eerily pale skin that seemed to glint in the sunlight. His clothes were a contrasting black, a long leather duster that whipped around him in the breeze. But it wasn't his size or his skin that frightened me. 

It was the eyes. 

They were pitch black. There was no pupil, no iris, no difference between them. They were a gaping maw, a hole in reality that lead to the depths of absolute evil. And above all, they were freaking scary. Without mercy. 

I gulped. 

The other was the polar opposite to his companion. His skin was black, darker than midnight, rippling with muscle and sinew. I would have described him as lean; not particularly gigantic, but he wasn't a stick either. He was about 6 foot, which made him a little less intimidating. His clothes were long robes of a harsh white that seemed even brighter in the sun. 

But it was his head that was really interesting. It was elongated and looked like it weighed about a million pounds, but he seemed to hold it there with ease. His hair was long and stark white, brighter than his robes and finally, his eyes were… 

Glowing. 

They seemed to burn with a fierce golden energy that I could feel from that distance, humming with a magnitude that even I couldn't comprehend. 

These guys, whoever they were, were strong. 

I felt anger welling up inside me, threatening to burst forth in a fire-storm of fury. No, I told myself. I had to control the urge to let loose, or I would hurt Lucy and the passengers behind us. 

"Who the...!" 

I started, but doubled over in agony. The magical energy that had formed at my anger was playing havoc with my stomach. The more magic I used in this state, the worse I would feel. A double-edged sword, the perfect catch-22. 

These bastards had me right where they wanted me. 

"Who the hell are you?!" finished Lucy, maybe to make me feel better. It didn't. 

The two men, clothes whipping around them wildly, payed no attention to the blonde. Their eyes were all for me, taking in the sight before them. 

"So this is the legendary Salamander," rumbled the huge one. I felt his voice more than heard it, rumbling deep within me. The other one's face was expressionless as he said, in a voice that slithered around me. 

"Not much to look at, is he?" 

I grimaced up at the two as they watched me. How the heck was I gonna fight off two people like that in this state? Maybe Lucy could summon a spirit to fight? But she had already summoned Virgo, and I didn't want her to get exhausted or lose her power. 

What was I gonna do? 

"You take care of this Banquo," said the huge one, turning to make his way out of the carriage, "I will report to the Lord." 

The other one smiled, his teeth white, "Oh yes, that sounds like a plan."

I shivered at the almost hungry tone, and that feeling wasn't lessened when he licked his lips. Whoever this guy was, he relished the violence and wouldn't give me any mercy.  
>At least I was only fighting one of them now. In a second, the big guy was gone, dropping off the back of the train and disappearing from view. <p>

I had to find a way to stop the train. If Lucy was right, and I really hoped she was, I would be able to instinctively hold this guy off. The power that was flowing from him was strong, yes, but it wasn't unbeatable. Perhaps this was part of the instincts that Lucy was talking about? Was I already calculating my chances against this Banquo? 

I didn't know if I could take him, but there wasn't much use in thinking about it. I had to try, that much was clear. For Lucy's sake, for Happy's sake, for the innocent people who right now were cowering away from the confrontation. 

But most importantly, I was doing this for me. I needed answers, and I bet that this guy could give them to me. 

"Lucy," I whispered, standing finally on my own two feet, "We need to stop this train." 

The girl didn't answer, staring in fear at Banquo. When I looked at her, I saw her shaking, eyes wide and staring. What the hell was wrong with her? I tried to snap her from her fearful daze, but she didn't respond. 

Whatever effect the guy was having on Lucy, I didn't like it. 

"Are you ready, little Salamander?" Banquo slithered, his voice hollow and full of menace. I too was suddenly struck with an intense fear. It wasn't the deep, rumbling fear that you get when you are dreading an encounter that you must endure. It wasn't the tightly strung, ropy fear that hits you when you are in danger, that fear that is always accompanied by the thumping adrenaline. It was that stale, coppery fear. The one with the same post code as "Surrender to the inevitable." 

I couldn't fight this guy. 

I just couldn't. 

God damn it! I was too weak to protect my friends! I was too weak to even protect my self! If I couldn't even stand this guys presence, how was I going to get my memories back? I was pathetic. Maybe it would have been better if I had just died in the first place. 

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even feel the train slide to a very gradual, but very real, stop. 

I blinked. The nausea, the pain, was gone. I suddenly felt better than I ever had before, strength rushing into every pore and energizing me. 

You see all those adverts for energy drinks and potions and what-not, all with melodramatic talk about how drinking it will rehydrate you and put a boost into your day la de da de da… 

Well, they couldn't hold a candle to what I was feeling. 

I shot a wicked grin at Banquo as power filled me, a crackling fire that roared in rage. Lucy seemed to snap out of whatever daze she had been in and looked around in confusion. Banquo on the other hand had begun to look a great deal less cocky. He scowled at me as I grinned at him, his fists clenched. 

"And once again, here I am to rescue you, my love..." came a smooth, confident voice from behind us. Lucy and I turned to see a tall man of perhaps twenty approaching us, his brown hair wild and windswept. He wore a dark suit and glasses and grinned at me before taking one of Lucy's hands and kissing it. 

I didn't like him. 

"Loke!" she cried, before grinning at me. 

"Who..." I started to ask, but decided it would have to wait. For the moment, this guy was on our side and that was better than nothing. I had to take care of this Banquo. 

But just as I turned to face the enemy, I was hit in the side with bone crushing force. Pain exploded and I cried out as I flew through the side of the carriage and crashed into the dirt of a nearby hill. Hard.

While I had been focusing on Loke and Lucy, Banquo had blindsided me and dealt the first blow.

As first blows go, this was a good one. I struggled to my feet just as, WHAM, I was hit again, this time in the back.

I had barely had a chance to recover when the bastard had gotten behind me and hit me again. How fast was he? I went flying again and rolled a few times before smashing into a tree. I choked as the breath was knocked out of me. When I finally got to my feet, the site was frightening. Banquo was strolling towards me, looking casual of all things.  
>In fact, he looked bored. As I scowled at him, wincing from the hits he had dealt me, he picked at his nails and inspected them. Infuriating. <p>

I tried to gather my fire, tried to think of some kind of move to use against this oncoming storm, but found nothing. He just kept moving towards me. 

"I am a lot like you, Salamander," he said in that nasty, slithery way, "I'm a dragon slayer too, you see." 

I blinked, staring at him. Was he? Did that mean I had a chance after all? I felt hope stirring in me, as the black wizard spoke again. 

"I am the slayer of the sun. The power of the sun flows into me, giving me strength, speed and my own little fire." He winked at that last, and as he did, his golden eyes gleamed even brighter. His fists were suddenly wreathed in golden fire, brighter than the fire I had used.

He rushed me, and I couldn't think what to do. Lucy was wrong. I had no instinctive fighting ability! I was as defenseless as Happy. I had no chance. 

"Taiyo no Tekken!" roared Banquo, shooting forward in a burning golden blaze. 

Instincts are an odd thing. You never feel their presence, you never know that you are doing something instinctively. That's just how they work. 

I opened my mouth as wide as I could as Banquo's fist came roaring towards my face. It fit all the way in, not touching the sides and I bit down hard. A spicy, intense flame sizzled inside me as I gulped down the solar powered flames. It was like a tornado inside my stomach, ripping me apart into pure, unrestrained energy. 

Banquo's eyes widened and he tried to punch me hard in the gut with his other hand, but I caught it and held, resisting the energy that was peeling the skin from my hands. It hurt like a bitch, but if I had endured that horrible motion sickness, I could endure this. 

I gulped down his power, before spitting out his hand and driving a knee into his stomach. He grunted and dropped, in time for me to fling a wild punch at his head. I hadn't hit the guy hard enough though. He recovered from my knee and dodged deftly to the left, a golden blur. His whole body was know pulsing with that angry golden light. I had to hit him again. If he managed to attack me with his full power, I would be toast. Already, my innards were boiling and my hand was numb from pain. The only way I could survive was if I got rid of the energy inside me. Did I have time to get that out and defend myself from the solar dragon slayer's next attack? I had no idea. 

And once again, my instincts took over. 

I concentrated and with all my willpower, I forcibly digested the sun. It hurt. 

I screamed in blind, shredding pain but I held on, converting the power into a battery. I could feel a dragon inside me stirring, howling at his cage to be let free and who was I to deny him that right?

I wanted to attack him, but I had no idea how to concentrate the power that was running through me into something more corporeal. As I struggled with this, Banquo was gazing at me in… 

In fear. The bastard was scared of me. Then I realized what I must have looked like. Golden fire was swirling around me, bursting forth from every pore. It must have been quite a sight. 

Dragonforce. How I knew the name of it I wasn't sure, but I was certain that that was it. The final form of a dragon slayer. This was the true name of my power, and I was gonna kick ass with it. 

A thousand words sprung into my head as if a dam had broken, settling into their right places. Memories, fights, me fighting with all my might. I had remembered something. The pure power of Dragonforce had awoken some inner self and I was prepared to use it. 

"Taiyo no..." 

I never let Banquo finish his sentence. In a second I was next to him, my hands afire with a golden blaze. 

"KARYUU NO TEKKEN!" 

The punch landed square in Banquo's solar plexus, driving all of his gathered power and the air out of his lungs. I didn't let him recover, spinning in mud air and driving down with my whole body, howling. 

"KARYUU NO KENKAKU!"

The two of us drilled into the earth, the power behind my attack driving us a few feet into the surface. Blood rained from the other slayer's mouth. I readied my fists for another blow, but I was interrupted by a swift shout. 

"Natsu!"

I glanced up, my eyes still alive with blood lust and rage. Who the hell was interrupting me? I was just getting started! This bastard deserved every beating he got. I started to grin manically at the thought of beating him even more. Maybe this other person wanted to step in? I could destroy them as well! I had every right to after all, and besides, who could stop me? 

I looked around. There were two people standing there (TWO! Even more to KILL!) 

One was a man, slender and tall with wide, frightened eyes and wild brown hair. Did I recognize him?

The other was a blonde girl, her face streaked with tears and anguish. She was very pretty, her tears breaking on her chest as she began to approach me. It was... It… 

Lucy. 

"Natsu, stop," she said, her eyes pleading. I blinked, the rage leaving my body like a tap had been turned off somewhere. It was replaced by a dull, thudding dread that made my hands shake. I felt the fire around me subside as I stood from where I was poised to attack Banquo. 

Then I looked down. 

The mans eyes were blank, glazed over and faded into a dull grey color, staring into the blue evening sky. He didn't twitch, his mouth hanging open. Blood was spattered around the side of it, as well as around the gigantic wound that had been crushed into his chest. It was a horrible sight. 

He was dead. 

I crawled out of the dip in the earth, tears blurring my vision as grief racked my body.

This man, however flawed and however evil, had been living and breathing a second ago, determined to please his master and defeat me. It had been me or him, but still, death was a very permanent fate.

I collapsed and began to moan.

What had I done? My power was so uncontrollable I had killed a man who hadn't even had the chance to surrender. 

I didn't register it as Lucy wrapped her arms around me. She tried to comfort me, soothing me with soft whispers as I rocked back and forth. I wept, grieving at the death of both that man and the death of the man I had once been. 

What was left was just a monster.


	4. Memories of Fire

The next few days were kind of blurry. I don't really remember them very well. I'm sure, if I put in a lot of effort and racked my brain I could probably manage it. 

But I don't think I'd want to. 

I'm sure my original self would have killed. He must have, at least once. That was my pathetic, weak reasoning. Oh, I may have already taken a life, so it was okay that I had brutally beaten a man into his death throes with my bare hands. 

There was only one sort of person that could do so with such ease and such warped reasoning.

Me. A monster. 

A dragon. 

After Banquo was dead, I simply sat there, staring at his twisted, bleeding form. Most of the blood that would have come out wasn't, because the heat of my fire had cauterized his wounds to the point where he was still sizzling, rancid smoke spiraling up from his broken corpse. 

I had only had the upper hand for a second. A mere second, where I had been astoundingly lucky and Banquo, a little slow. That had been enough for my inner demon, enough for the rage to destroy him and the life he had lived. 

Lying there, eyes open and staring at the sky like that, so horribly, disturbingly peaceful. 

A tear ran down the side of my face as I lay gazing up at the moon. The campsite we had set up was in a glade, where the trees conveniently separated enough for a perfect campsite, but not so much that we were too open to the elements. We were sheltered from the wind and at this time of year, the sky was blissfully clear. I tried to pick out constellations out there in the dark blue forever, eyes skipping about the many stars until they all blurred under the duress of my exhaustion. I couldn't sleep. The urge just wasn't there and hadn't been since Banquo had died. Every time I closed my eyes I was possessed by the overwhelming fear that if I welcomed the ignorant stupor of sleep I would do something. To Happy, or myself… 

Or… 

Or Lucy. My heart gave a lurch at the mere thought of even hurting her slightly. I looked to my right, where she slept. She had curled all the way up and was snoring slightly, her mouth a little open. Her face was red and worn out and she had wrapped herself all the way up in her sleeping bag, only her face sticking out. It was adorable. I smiled slightly, my heartbeat speeding up as she made a soft little noise in the back of her throat and shifted, making a strand of hair fall across her face. 

Banquo would have hurt her. There it was. The harsh truth. In a way, I wasn't ashamed or upset about that. It was the ease with which I had murdered him, not the actual reason. Because the mere idea of Happy or Lucy getting hurt because of my weakness… 

I couldn't bear to think about it. 

I decided to switch my thoughts to different matters. Like Banquo.

Surely that had something to do with the reason I lost my memory? That would be one ridiculous coincidence, but thinking about it, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen to me. No, that wasn't it. Everything, my meeting with Lucy and Happy, the train ride and the disastrous battle that ensued, they were all supposed to happen. How did I know? 

Good question. I didn't have a clue. 

After a few minutes of mental pondering, I huffed angrily and got up. I was far too wound up to be productive mentally, so I might as well do something useful.

If I was going to protect my friends, I needed to learn more about my powers. The knowledge was all up there, but this was an odd case of knowing the magic but not remembering ever using it. So I had all the know-how to do it, but no experience. 

Might as well make some. I made sure that my friends were still sleeping soundly, eyes lingering on Lucy's prone form before I ran quietly into the night. It was cold, but not so much that I shivered. The brisk breeze seemed to wake me even more, which can't have been bad. I wasn't sure, but logic would dictate that power like this could get seriously out of control if I didn't keep my wits about me. 

I started off by warming up, setting a starting point at a large rock formation and doing large circuits around it until I was sweating and breathing heavily. I then approached a tree, one that looked sturdy, and ran through some basic combat drills, landing a few solid punches and kicks to it, but not so hard that I would damage myself.

Once I could feel my heart thundering in my ears, I closed my eyes and focused on the magical knowledge in my head. Words came out of nowhere, ones that I didn't understand. But I recognized the language. Ancient Fioran, a tongue favored by magic users for their evocations. Even I, one who was relatively new to the world (at least in mind) knew that. I drew upon that knowledge, and, as if they had been said a thousand times before, words flowed from my mouth. I lifted my hands to my mouth instinctively and felt power and heat rushing through me as I hissed. 

"Karyuu no hoko!"

* * *

><p>Lucy found me in the ashes of the forest. It was a little before dawn, and I had worked my way through the forest until I had come across a cliff, where I had settled to rest.<p>

The night had been a busy one. I had delved deep into my head, the ancient tongue coming to my lips like I had been born to speak it. The rest had been fire. Pure and simple. Flowing like rivers of death from my hands, my mouth, my body. The pure essence of destruction and heat, concentrated into the body of a single person. 

I was dangerous. But I had done something good. I felt in control. The fire was flowing strong through my body. Perhaps this was the road to remembering my past, tapping into the power the dragon had bestowed upon me.

I hoped so, at any rate.

I was tired, sure, but that would be the result of throwing that much power around. I'd need to find some fire to eat. It wasn't particularly urgent, but the idea of being caught with my magical pants down didn't appeal to me, so I wasn't going to dawdle with it. 

"Hey," said Lucy. I sat, my legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. I judged it to be just before sunrise. Lucy, her blonde hair still pretty but a mess, sat down next to me and smiled. 

"You okay?" she asked, and I was grateful for her asking. I looked around at the ash covered wasteland, then at her. 

"Yeah," I said, smiling broadly, "Yeah I am. I'm great Lucy," I grinned, gesturing at my nights work, "I'm finally in control. I feel like I was meant to have this power, and that I can use it." At this, Lucy too smiled broadly. I had a feeling that she had been worried about me. 

I didn't want her to worry. 

"Where's Happy?" 

"Sleeping," she responded, before looking out at the sprawling Fioran hills and bush, "I left a note for him. He'll be fine." 

I breathed out in relief. Good, now I didn't have to worry about him. 

I realized at that point three things. 

One: Happy had been present pretty much 24/7 since I had met him. 

Two: In fact, I could even say he was annoyingly so. I hadn't really had a moment alone with Lucy. 

Three: We were alone now. 

I gulped. My heart started to jump, racing through my chest like some kind of stallion. I was alone with a very pretty girl, just as the sun was about to rise. If that was romantic, I didn't know what was. 

Of course, that would never happen. I had no hope of ever being with Lucy, but that didn't stop my mind wandering. 

She spoke first. 

"I've been worried about you. Ever since we saw you at that inn. And after the train incident, you've been like a zombie. I..." She stopped, as if contemplating how best to word her next sentence. 

"You can always talk to me Natsu." I blushed, and when I turned to look at her, she was as well, "You're my best friend, you can always talk to me," 

I could always talk to her. 

I knew that. 

Right? 

I swallowed and smiled at her. 

"Hell yeah! We're partners right?" 

Lucy smiled. It was a very pretty smile that made my heart skip a beat. My heart's a jerk. 

"Partners!" she confirmed, and we slapped our hands together. 

We sat there for a while in comfortable silence. As the sun started to rise, the surrounding countryside glowed with an orange hue that warmed me like no fire could. It was beautiful, glinting off of the sky like a giant mirror of blue crystal. I went absolutely rigid when Lucy put her head on my shoulder and melted against me. It was comforting, having a warm, breathing form so close to me. I put my arm around her, a protective gesture more than anything, letting her know that I was here to stay. 

Together, we watched the sun rise.


End file.
